Windsong Dojo is a completely independant martial arts school which issues its own ranking credentials -- though several of our members, myself included, hold very significant rank with UJSA, and any of our members are free to join any ranking organization that they choose (Usja, Usji, Usjf -etc.), no one will ever be required to join any outside organizantion; consequently, the dojo is not a sanctioned club. In accord with our independant status, our ranking standards and criteria are our own and are not based upon the the modern competitive point system, but rather reflect the traditional values and methods of our dojo and the lineage of training we derive from.
If our members choose to pursue competition then dojo members should be advised that joining one of the national sanctioning organizating may be required by the tournement officials before you are allowed to participate and your rank may or may not be recognized.
Such are the vagueries of the national and regional systems that Greg Ables, one of our most long standing members and well recognized as one of the top competitiors of the state and the region in the 80's and 90's spent several years competing as a white belt in local tournements. His winning record eventually convinced the local officails to recognize the legitimacy of his dojo rank.

Yeah, I saw that. Meh. Makes me wonder what that "very significant rank" is, and what org it came from.

Explicit statement that while yes, they'd get their ass kicked against actual judoka...they're prepared for the STREETS which are somehow different please don't ask them how specifically the streets are different just trust that they are.http://www.kazeutabudokai.com/phpBB3...hp?f=49&t=1478

What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. -Xenophon's Socrates

"The next thing after this is randori....The main thing you're after here is to function in nagekomi most of the time, and then you use stugeitko* sparingly at a more advanced level, so by the time you're getting into nikyu, ikyu level, shodan level and above, you start working some stugeitko action to sharpen your skills up. Most of the time, all the way through your training, probably staying most of the time in nagekomi."
*Stugeitko is a drill where I tell you I'm going to work, say, osotogari, and you try to defend just by using movement (no stiff-arming).

What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. -Xenophon's Socrates

Yeah, I saw that. Meh. Makes me wonder what that "very significant rank" is, and what org it came from.

Explicit statement that while yes, they'd get their ass kicked against actual judoka...they're prepared for the STREETS which are somehow different please don't ask them how specifically the streets are different just trust that they are.http://www.kazeutabudokai.com/phpBB3...hp?f=49&t=1478

Yeah, it does read a bit like that...

How's about this? I don't know a lot about Judo, so this may be a perfectly fair and legit statement (if so, my bad) - but it sounds at odds with what I've read elsewhere when it comes to resistance levels in Judo and kinda screams 'ukes flying through the air like swallows in the springtime' at me... (bolding mine)

I think it's important to take a few minutes and discuss the five different levels of play in Judo. I begin at the lowest impact and work my way upward to full-out play.

Uchi Komi - We practice throwing by loading the throw, but not throwing except possibly on last repetition. This is a good tool for checking body position, alignment, foot placement.

Nage Komi (Hop Randori) - Non-resistive play, taking turns throwing each other. We should work off of real steps, trying to take no more than 3 steps before we throw. Donít block throws -- take your falls. Allow for a 3-to-1 exchange; i.e. if you throw three times, your partner must get at least one throw. We must build from success. It is unrealistic to expect you to just start lifting weights at 500 pounds. You must train and build up to it. This means that you must have success in order to progress.

Sutegeiko (literally "throw away practice") - Tori states throw to work on, and uke resists with movement, not stiff arming. Anybody can stiff arm, but it takes a real dancer to thwart a throw with movement. Learning to use movement to counter is studying Judo, whereas applying stiff arms is not enhancing your Judo education. Stiff arming is simply playing defense. Remember that the best defense is a good offense. Good movement allows uke to practice Judo too.

Randori - Both partners working offense and defense at the same time. Even though both partners are trying to work their offensive game at the same time, a certain level of decorum exists here. Randori should be more along the lines of a very brisk or high-speed nage-komi session.

Shiai - Full-blown, competition level throwing; nothing is held back. It is not necessary to work at this level of play. It is useful for diagnosing weaknesses in your game. To be successful in tournament play, one has to change from the regular level of recreational/technical study that is our norm; also required is this change in other players who are willing to work with the tournament player. Tournament play is a very specialized form of Judo.

Working on uchi-komi and nage-komi yield the greatest results, and this is where the majority of your practice time should be spent. Stugeiko is a useful tool for studying entries into throws with a resistant partner. Randori is where all three of these come together.

People often confuse randori and shiai. Players sometimes say they want to randori, but in actuality they are looking to shiai (fight). It is important that we understand these levels of play, and where we should be operating as part of our normal training regimen.

He smears sparring schools as brutal, injury-prone, ego-infested hives of scum and villainy, then tells the story of his dojo's progression into Aikido-esque Judo.

To build and maintain a competent technical program that does not produce much injury is a real challenge. We have had to evolve and restructure many times to get to a formula of play that works.
As a corrective in our standing work we have found that by emphasizing controlled drills and making the main practice nagekomi (with a little stugeiko on occasion) we get very good skill development with a very low rate of injury. By deemphasizing free randori and eliminating shiai we keep things pretty safe – this method works great.
In ground work we have kept it a little looser but perhaps this has been a mistake, Perhaps in nei waza it should be the same as standing; the main training time should be spent on controlled drills and light non-resistive, non-competitive, constant movement flowing play—emphasizing fluid movement and skill building rather than forms of submission. Resistance and methods of overcoming resistance should be proscribed as in stugeiko—to develop greater proficiency under controlled conditions, with everyone on the same page while also and minimizing the risks. Free grappling and shai should be kept to a minimum, or cut out entirely. No one should be cranking on necks or elbows—no one should be trafficking in “proof.”
This is Dojo—its not a fight club and I will not allow it to become one.

Live and let them live to be shitty I guess.

What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. -Xenophon's Socrates

This annoys me because they took the wrong lessons from hard sparring and true budo. They found challenge and ego and touched on the problems we all face--and instead of dealing with these problems, they ran away to where they can ignore the problem.

I think I'm done with this. They're internally consistent and totally uninteresting. They've laid out their philosophy and training methods clear as day; there's no investigation on that side. We could look into their rank qualifications but **** it.

What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. -Xenophon's Socrates

Explicit statement that while yes, they'd get their ass kicked against actual judoka...they're prepared for the STREETS which are somehow different please don't ask them how specifically the streets are different just trust that they are.http://www.kazeutabudokai.com/phpBB3...hp?f=49&t=1478

Yeah, I wish people would just realise street is LESS difficult than actual 1-to-1 fighting because you know... you can actually run away, get friends to help, use junk lying around/bring a weapon to even the odds... yeah.